
Children should receive the age-appropriate vaccine dose regardless of their size or weight. Yes, there is a new dosing amount for pediatric patients who are 11 years old or younger. + Is there a difference between the pediatric dose and dose for people ages 12 and over of the COVID-19 vaccine? Moderna and Johnson & Johnson vaccines remain only for people over the age of 18. Answering Frequently Asked Questions About COVID-19 Vaccines for Kids + What is the current age authorized for vaccination?Īt this time, all people who are five years old and older have been authorized to receive the Pfizer vaccine (specific formula dependent on age).

Keeping your children safe from infection will be of paramount importance as colder weather and the holiday season lead to more people congregating indoors, where COVID-19 is more easily spread. It’s best to play it safe and get your children vaccinated, as scientists have conclusively determined that Pfizer’s vaccine for children is safe.ĬOVID-19 can be a dangerous disease. Getting your child vaccinated is now important as new research warns that children younger than 12 may be more susceptible to infection by new strains of COVID-19, and may be at major risk of lifelong complications. Children May Be at Higher Risk from COVID-19 than Previously Thought This vaccine has gone through rigorous and intensive peer-reviewed trials to ensure that it’s safe and effective and that the dose is correct for the children who will be receiving it. Because a child’s immune system is different from an adult’s, the vaccines developed for adults needed to be tested for safety before they could be distributed to kids. Producing a vaccine that was effective for adults was a priority at the beginning of the pandemic.Ī one-size-fits-all approach simply doesn’t work for vaccines. Early in the pandemic, scientists from the WHO (World Health Organization) noted that children both transmitted and caught COVID-19 at lower rates than adults, and their infections were frequently (but not always) less severe. The delay in producing a vaccine for children was a matter of practicality, not because children did not need vaccination.

While this is bound to be a major relief for many worried parents, some may be wondering, “Why now? And why the delay?” Groundbreaking Research Learn more about what you and your child or teen can do when fully vaccinated. Children ages five years and older are able to get an age-appropriate dose of Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine.” People who are fully vaccinated can safely resume many activities that they did prior to the pandemic. Getting vaccinated against COVID-19 greatly reduces your and your child’s risk of catching COVID-19, and greatly reduces the risk of severe illness, hospitalization, and death if you do catch it.Īccording to the CDC, “widespread vaccination for COVID-19 is a critical tool to best protect everyone, especially those at highest risk. At this time, the vaccine from Pfizer is recommended for children and teenagers ages five to 17 people older than that are encouraged to get any of the available COVID-19 vaccines. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention) is recommending that everyone ages five and older get a COVID-19 vaccine to help protect against COVID-19.
